Herbert Smith and Ashurst have landed lead roles on the $500m (£250.3m) float of Global MENA Financial Assets (GMFA) on the London Stock Exchange.

Herbert Smith advised longstanding client JP Morgan Cazenove as sole sponsor, global co-ordinator and joint-bookrunner for the offering, fielding a team under London corporate partners Alex Bafi and Scott Cochrane.

The bank has used Herbert Smith for legal advice for around five years – more recently when it acted as nominated adviser and placing agent on the £30m Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listing of Cazenove Absolute Equity Limited, a hedge fund of funds. That deal saw corporate partner Michael Shaw lead the firm's team.

Ashurst's Dubai managing partner, Nick Bryans, and London-based M&A partner Eric Stuart advised the issuer, regular client Global Investment House. The firm has previously advised the Kuwaiti bank on a range of transactions and last year acted on its $54m (£27.1m) investment in Al Jazeera Steel, when Bryans again headed the team.

Bafi told Legal Week: "It is great to successfully complete the transaction in relatively difficult markets in an area of significant focus for the firm. The deal reflects the large amount of liquidity in the Middle East, which makes the financial services sector a more attractive investment proposition." GMFA, a private equity fund set to invest in financial services companies in the Middle East and Africa, will be advised by a subsidiary of Global Investment House – Global Capital Management.

So far this year there has been a dearth of initial public offering activity with only 29 new offerings taking place between January and the end of June. One of the most significant was the flotation of Mexican silver producer Fresnillo for around £4bn, which secured roles for firms including Linklaters.